Building Trust
by cactusarms
Summary: Exploring Tony and Michelle before Day 2.
1. Chapter 1

Michelle mindlessly thumbed through all of her clothes. She wanted to look professional, but not uptight. Feminine, but not overtly sexy. Looking through an array of pantsuits, she decided those were a bit too conservative. A black skirt would have to do. Purple? No. Red? Definitely not today. Blue? Too bright. A green shirt? Didn't they say that was the color of intelligence? No, not green. She sighed and realized she was running out of time. She grabbed for a conservative, but form fitting black button up and simple black pumps. She pulled a delicate gold chain that adorned a single pearl around her neck and clasped it shut. She reached for the simple pearl studs on her dresser that matched the necklace and was pleased with herself. She had pull her hair into a low bun, but couldn't do anything to trap the loose curls popping out of place. Ever since she was a little girl her mane was uncontrollable. She could attempt to jerry-rig bobby pins to keep it more tame, but she had learned over time it wasn't worth it. She quickly applied a moderate amount of make up. Putting on one last swipe of nude lipstick, she knew this was as good as it was going to get this morning.

She was relieved she left extra early this morning when she saw the standstill traffic on the highway. One of the worst parts of living in LA was commuting anywhere. It seemed it always took at least 20 minutes to get even a few miles. She had grown up just outside the city and was used to it by now, but it never made it any easier to deal with.

When she entered CTU, she felt confident. She had given herself a pep talk on the twenty minute drive and realized she was indeed more than ready for this. She knew she was more than fit for the position and had an immaculate track record. She was getting settled with her security clearances and saw a familiar face approach her.

"Good morning, Michelle. I hope you're ready." George Mason was quirky. She had picked up on that immediately in her initial interview to transfer. He was one of those cut and dry types. She let out some uncomfortable laughter, not sure if he was actually being serious or not.

"Mr. Mason. Morning. I certainly am ready," she tersely responded. A small smirk came upon his face and she realized he was probably joking. Her cheeks got a bit flush, but she shook it off.

She made the rounds being introduced to people by George and was relieved that her new coworkers seemed more friendly than people at Division right out the gate. Not that it was hard. She was pleasantly surprised that many of her new coworkers dressed relatively casual, unlike everyone at Division. Michelle was grateful that she voted against the pantsuits earlier this morning.

After going through pleasantries and being shown to her new desk, the real work began quickly. Her eyes scanned the room and noticed she must have met most everyone by now. Her gaze landed on the empty desk situated directly across from hers. The chair was tucked in and some papers were scattered haphazardly. There was also an empty Chicago Cubs mug next to the computer. She assumed the occupant hadn't come in yet. Glancing at her watch, she realized it was already 9:20 in the morning. She brought her attention back to Mr. Mason who was hovering over her.

She was being briefed by George on a new situation when he cursed under his breath, "Fucking Almeida." She was slightly taken aback and looked up to where his gaze landed. A young man was quickly approaching them. He looked like he just woke up. His clothes were slightly wrinkled and his face had definitely not been shaved for a couple of days. He definitely had the brooding mysterious thing going for him.

"Thank you so much for gracing us with your presence, Tony." George rolled his eyes as he met Tony in front of Michelle's desk. She felt awkward for witnessing the exchange and tried to avert her eyes down to her screen.

"You're welcome." Michelle's eyes widened at his boldness. She couldn't help but find it to be slightly funny. She bit back a smile and looked up at the men. Was he really not going to offer a real excuse for being late? She tried to make out what he faintly grumbled to George.

George rolled his eyes, seemingly over it. "Anyway, this is the new IPM, Michelle Dessler. Michelle, this is Tony. Tony Almeida, newly appointed Chief of Staff. He's normally not this punctual." Both men turned to face her and she awkwardly shot up from her chair.

She shot her hand out and felt her cheeks burning as their palms met. "Uh, yeah. Hi. Nice to meet you. I forgot the new IPM was starting today." George let out an audible sigh and shook his head.

"I swear. You have selective hearing."

"Only with you," Tony instantly shot back. George rolled his eyes once more and sighed.

"Michelle, if you need anything you know where to find me." He left her station and headed back up the stairs to his office.

Tony and Michelle were left alone in awkward silence. Michelle suddenly felt unsure of herself for the first time since she had arrived this morning.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Tony. George updated me on the intel on Colombia. Let me know if you need anything else. I'm going to start diving into these satellite scans." She smiled, feeling embarrassed for no reason in particular and sat back down.

"Alright." He offered no smile back. Tony scratched at his stubble before walking off to his desk, which was directly across the bullpen from hers.

Michelle tried to regain her composure and shook of her thoughts. His welcome was definitely the most chilly of the day, but she chalked it up to the fact that he was clearly having a rough morning. Hopefully he wasn't always like this.


	2. Chapter 2

This story is more canon than the other one I am currently writing. It didn't really make sense to merge them. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave a review!

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Tony was fuming when he entered the office. He knew he was about to get his ass chewed out by George. It was one of those mornings where everything goes wrong. The power went out in the middle of the night, making him miss his morning alarm. When he woke up around 8:30 and looked at the wristwatch sitting on his nightstand, he instantly shot up. He knew he had no time to shower or shave. To make matters worse, he realized he had fallen asleep before doing the multiple loads of laundry that were strewn in his closet. He grimaced when he picked an outfit off the ground and threw it on.

He felt like a stereotypical sloppy bachelor these days. His apartment was a mess, not that it was really his fault. He had barely been home in the past month. He felt like it had been weeks since he'd eaten a meal anywhere besides hovering over his computer screen. He couldn't help the fact that he had been picking up extra slack at work since Nina got outed. He was embarrassed to say the least. He knew almost everyone knew they were seeing each other, and if they didn't know before, they definitely did now. He swore every woman in the office looked at him as if his dog had been run over for weeks after her arrest. Some of the guys even made some comments to him about it. They were trying to be nice, but it only pissed Tony off more.

He never intended to get involved with a coworker, especially his direct superior. They had always gotten along on the professional level, and Tony couldn't help but be slightly judgmental at her affair with Bauer. After he went back to his wife, Nina set her sights on Tony. She was relentless in her obvious pursuit of him. And even though his better judgment was telling him to stay away, he was a red blooded male. One night when they were alone in the office she laid it out for him and simply asked if he wanted to come home with her. Nina was never very subtle about anything. From there, after sleeping together and the occasional meal out, he had told her he wanted a straight answer of what they were doing. He felt like the girl in the scenario, which is how Nina always liked to make him feel. A little bit emasculated.

It wasn't exactly easy to maintain relationships with anyone who didn't work in the same environment. He remembered his last girlfriend before Nina. A sweet-natured elementary school teacher named Chelsea. He had met her through a friend. She was tall and blonde, with a naturally very nice personality. They barely had a chance to make it off the ground in their relationship. He always felt like he was being shady when he was with her. He couldn't divulge much about his career to her, and they had trouble connecting on a very deep level. Teaching kindergarten and defusing national security situations were not exactly in the same realm. After he had cancelled one too many dates with limited explanation, she ended things. Tony was relieved when he found out she was engaged to someone new a year down the road. She deserved someone who could dedicate their time to her.

His parents knew his job limited his ability to have serious girlfriends, but it never stopped his mom for relentlessly asking him about it. He always deflected, saying that she should be grateful his younger brothers had both married straight out of college, producing five grandkids between them. Tony reminded her that even if he did find someone special, they would be all the way in LA. Everyone else in the family was in Chicago. She always said that he needed someone to take care of him regardless. Tony's mother was very old school in that way. He admired the fact that she was extremely quick-witted and intelligent, but somehow always took care of his father and the kids. He swore he had never seen her sick once in his life.

"Shit." Tony glanced at the dashboard clock and shook his head. Of course, there was roadwork blocking traffic. This was Los Angeles after all, home of road rage. After his drive was pushed from the usual 20 to 40 minutes he whipped into the parking lot and rushed into the bullpen. He saw George from afar, right in front of his desk. Tony knew there was no way he was slipping past him.

He was met with a smart ass comment and a shit-eating grin on George's face. Tony swore there was a running tally in George's mind of any time he fucked up. Considering it already a loss, Tony couldn't help himself but respond with equal disdain.

"Anyway, this is the new IPM, Michelle Dessler. Michelle, this is Tony. Tony Almeida, newly appointed Chief of Staff. He's normally not this punctual." Tony looked down, surprised to see a young woman quickly rising to her feet. He remembered George had mentioned they were finally getting a new IPM after a couple of months of Tony doing two jobs at once. Thank God they found someone. Hopefully she didn't need too much babysitting. That was the last thing he needed to deal with.

He waved off George's sarcastic dig before reciprocating Michelle's handshake. For someone so petite, she certainly had a strong handshake. He appreciated that. It meant she had some confidence.

When George sauntered off to his office, Tony realized how much work he had to catch up on already. He was relieved to hear Michelle was diving into some of the satellite scans already. He figured it best to leave her to work and start catching up on the day.

Thirty minutes later Tony was filling his beloved Cubs mug with mediocre coffee in the break room. He heard high heels clacking down the grey hallway and whipped his head around to see the source of the clacking was Michelle.

"Hey," His voice came out low. He quickly shifted out of the way when she approached the pot of coffee. "I'll warn you. It's not the best."

"That's ok. As long as it works." All the mugs from the bottom shelves were taken and she tried to reach the top shelf, failing miserably even in her heels. He decided not to let her break any glasses or embarrass herself too much.

"I got it." Squeezing in next to her he thumbed at a simple black mug and pulled it down to her. As he handed it off, he realized this was his first chance to really take in her appearance. He realized he was cornering her against the refrigerator and backed away. As he pulled back he caught a whiff of her hair. It smelled like vanilla.

As she focused on filling her mug, he let his gaze linger from the simple pearl earrings down to her bare calves and her black pumps. He wasn't going to deny she was good looking. Anyone could see that from the objective sense. She was youthful and pretty, in a very natural way. He assumed her to be a few years younger than him. She had ivory skin, several shades darker than his, that was a stark contrast to the all black outfit she was wearing. Her collarbones were delicate and stuck out from her conservative top. He averted his gaze when she turned to face him and took a long sip.

"You're right. It's pretty average." Her brown eyes met his and they shared a brief laugh. She quickly tucked a lone curl behind her ear and took another sip. He noticed the faintest smudge of lipstick on the rim of the shiny black mug.

"Well, let me know if you need help with anything," Tony offered before heading back to his desk.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks so much for reading. Let me know any thoughts! :)_

Over the next couple of months Tony and Michelle had built an excellent professional relationship. Michelle instantly felt a fierce loyalty to him. They were generally on the same page about how things should be done. She noticed that some of their co-workers were a little skittish around Tony. He certainly had a quiet intensity to him and could come off a little crass at times. It didn't really bother her, though. He was intelligent and 99% of the time correct in his professional opinions. Michelle very much respected him as a superior.

She appreciated that Tony was someone who kept things short and simple at work. Some of her old coworkers at Division used to over explain any menial task they needed her help with. Tony was always concise and straight-forward. Maybe that's why some people didn't like him much or were too scared to approach him.

Michelle opened to door to the ladies' room when she overheard one of the IT girls venting.

"God, he is being such an ass today!" A petite red head cried out. Earlier Michelle had witnessed Tony chew her out for making a simple error, so she assumed that's who she was talking about

"I'm sorry, Beth. Don't take it personally. You know it's just because of Nina. I swear he hates all women now," another IT analyst tried to soothe the distraught young tech.

They both were startled when they heard Michelle approaching. Michelle awkwardly cleared her throat and the women scattered out. They looked at her sheepishly, silently hoping she wouldn't rat them out for talking trash about their boss. Michelle had no intention to tell Tony what she had heard. She certainly understood that everyone had to vent about their boss sometimes, and hopefully the women would learn to keep it to themselves within office walls next time.

Her thoughts drifted to Nina Meyers. Of course Michelle knew about Nina's betrayal to CTU and the country, but she wasn't sure that the rumors about Tony were founded in truth. Apparently, she now had her answer. Michelle had met Nina months back when she came into Division for a meeting. She was very matter-of-fact and dominant. Almost had a male-like energy. Interesting couple, thinking of the pairing with Tony. She imagined a lot of arguing and a lot of heat. Nina was definitely pretty in almost a vixen sense, so Michelle was unsurprised that Tony would be physically attracted to her. She wondered if that was his type. She realized the thoughts weren't really any of her business anyway as she returned to her desk.

Michelle glanced up from her screen and saw Tony rubbing his temples. It had been a particularly frustrating morning, as none of their current leads were checking out. He looked miserable. She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a full bottle of water and a small packet of ibuprofen. When she approached his seat, she was suddenly a little self-conscious of her gesture.

"I, ugh, you look like you could use these," Michelle stammered. She gently set the packet and bottle on the corner of his desk. Tony looked up at her and exhaled loudly. Maybe she shouldn't have bothered him.

"Thanks," was his only response. His dark eyes zoomed in on her with a look of confusion. Michelle gently fingered at a loose curl as she scurried back to her seat. She was relieved when she saw Tony swallow the pills and guzzle down the water.

Tony was taken aback by Michelle's kind gesture. His head was throbbing, and when he chugged the water he realized it was mostly from lack of food or water. He already felt his head clear up a bit as soon as he finished the bottle.

He had come to appreciate Michelle as an ally in the office. She seemed to implicitly understand him in ways that some of his other coworkers could not. She was excellent at her job, making his life much easier. He knew very little about her on a personal level, but felt comfortable around her. He admired that she seemed naturally kind, but strong. She also had a very light and optimistic air about her, without being over the top or sickly sweet.

Tony was a self-described pessimist himself. After serving in the military and working in government intelligence his entire life, it was hard not to be. Most of his colleagues were the same way, if not worse. Take George Mason, for example, that man was miserable and wanted everyone else to feel as bad as he did. Tony knew after Nina had come forward as a traitor he was even more dejected about the possibility of trusting others' intentions. He was more irritable in general, even biting the head off some of his coworkers a few times. He was also much more severe with George, not that he didn't usually deserve that. Tony was aware his crassness was not winning him any office popularity contests. At least Michelle didn't mind. Or she was good at hiding how she really felt about his straight-forwardness. He shuddered at the thought of another woman being dishonest to him. Even if she was just a coworker. Maybe he would even consider her a friend. Well, friends knew things about each other. Tony barely knew anything about her past aside from her professional history. Lately he often wondered what she did in the little free time they were given.

Tony glanced over at the woman in his thoughts. Her eyes were glued to her screen as she gently blew a lone curl out of her face. She looked tired, but somehow still fresh. He swore there was something almost dewy about her skin. She sighed heavily and leaned back in her chair, reaching up to her necklace and fiddling with the pendant. She sucked on her bottom lip, deep in thought. Her gaze drifted to him and he suddenly felt embarrassed. She had definitely caught him staring at her. He swore she swallowed a smile before looking back at her computer screen.

They were definitely friends.


	4. Chapter 4

_Update: Edited for some typos_

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Michelle felt a similar sensation creeping down her back and tingling her spine. It felt like someone was staring at her. She tried not to look up, but knew who it would be. She often felt the familiar burn on the back of her head when he thought she wasn't paying attention. Sometimes she would scanning her screen for hours, and suddenly be jolted by the sensation. She wasn't really sure if she loved it or hated it. Maybe if she knew why, she would feel better about it. She subtly turned her head around and her suspicions were confirmed. He was looking at her with his usual intensity. She swore the look was somewhere between lust and contempt.

She had been at CTU for over six months now and spent many late nights in close proximity to Tony. Since they were the second and third-ranking agents on site and George was particularly good at snaking his way out of work, they often got the brunt of it. Tonight was particularly irritating, a late Friday night with mountains of paperwork to process. George had already left several hours ago. How did he always sneak out? Michelle looked down at her wristwatch: 10:30 PM. She had arrived at CTU at 7 this morning, looking a lot better than she did right now. Any chances of meeting up with her often neglected friends tonight were gone.

Tony watched Michelle as she looked down at her watch for the hundredth time tonight. He knew this wasn't ideal, but he wondered where she was supposed to be. No matter her plans, he knew she would have never asked to leave early. She was way too professional for that.

"Did you have plans tonight?" He felt an inexplicable pang of jealousy when he asked. He was almost certain she wasn't seeing anyone, but had overheard George's assistant trying to set her up with a friend a few weeks back. Maybe she took her up on the offer? He remembered Eileen babbling on about how good looking the guy was. A fireman. As if that was _that_ impressive. George barked orders down to Eileen before Michelle had a chance to respond to her inquisition.

"Wha—ugh, no. I'm fine." Michelle felt embarrassed that she came across as needy to leave. She saw skepticism etched on Tony's face at her response. "Seriously, Tony. I'm good. No plans. Unless you count a bottle of red wine and a book on the couch as plans." He smiled at this.

"I'm sorry about this. You know how it gets…" Tony lamely apologized.

"Not like it's your fault. I just wish we had some more help," Michelle trailed, alluding to George's absence.

Tony practically growled under his breath, "Trust me. I know." Tony cleared his throat. "So, red wine, huh?"

Tony definitely noticed her blush. "Yeah. A glass of cab always helps me relax on long days. You?"

"Ah, I'm easy. Beer. Doesn't matter much what kind." He was such an alpha male personality.

"So stereotypical," Michelle teased. "I was hoping you'd admit to loving vodka sodas or something."

"Do I look like a sorority girl to you?" Tony shot back, his mouth twitching to a smirk. Michelle opened her mouth but was cut off. "Don't answer that."

They worked in a comfortable silence for another hour before Michelle excused herself to grab them some coffee. It was going to be another hour at the very least before they could go home. When she walked out of the room, her cell phone began to vibrate, almost shifting off the table. Tony quickly reached out to catch it, and tried to not look at the caller ID. It was too late.

 _Danny._

Who the hell is Danny? Her boyfriend? He thought she said she didn't have anywhere to be. Well, that she told him about. They weren't exactly gal pals. Why was Eileen trying to set her up then? Michelle was so professional that she probably wouldn't even tell the women in the office much about her personal life. Tony heard her heels clicking down the hall and quickly put the phone back on the table.

Michelle came back and placed his beloved Cubs mug in front of him. He looked in the mug, pleased to see she remembered he only drinks his coffee black.

"I think you missed a call." Tony looked at her to read her reaction. Maybe she was expecting this Danny guy to call her. He was surprised when she grimaced and quickly excused herself out with her phone in hand. He heard her footsteps trail far out of earshot. Clearly she didn't want him to listen to her conversation. Tony got back to the paperwork trying not to think too much about the call.

Michelle rushed out of the room as soon as she saw Danny had called her. God, how it felt that he controlled her at all times. She was his sister, she reminded herself. She would much rather he bother her than their parents. Especially on one of his anxious late nights awake. Lately, Danny's calls had become more frantic and frequent.

She was relieved when he picked up. "Danny? Are you okay? I'm sorry I missed your call."

Danny grumbled about not being allowed to his son's soccer game today, and how he couldn't believe Michelle had let this happen to him.

Michelle sucked in a deep breath and composed herself before responding. "Look, I'm sorry. But you know this isn't my fault. Go back to bed. I'll come over tomorrow and take you to lunch." He was partially correct, she reminded herself. She introduced the poison to him that eventually sucked him dry. Her parents and friends often tried to comfort her guilt about Danny, but it seldom helped her feel any better.

Tony noticed how dejected Michelle looked when she returned. She silently sat down, reaching for a new pile for debriefs to record.

"You okay?" Tony chewed on the inside of his cheek, worried about her. When her eyes shot up to him he swore she had a glaze of tears forming on her eyes.

"I'm fine. Just tired," she robotically answered. Michelle knew if she talked about it she would start crying. She tried to focus on the words in front of her, pushing back her insecurities about Danny for tonight. "Let's just push through these so we can get out of here."

Tony silently nodded at her and they worked for another hour before finally walking out. When they entered the parking garage they realized their cars, the only two left, were right next to each other. They awkwardly walked to their respective cars without saying a word.

Tony was worried. Ever since that phone call with this guy Danny she was clearly shaken up. Some asshole he must be. Tony wasn't sure why you would ever try to make Michelle feel bad. She was one of the most genuine people he had ever met. He hated that someone was making her feel this way.

When they pulled out of the garage, Tony briefly considered tailing her home to make sure she was really okay. He decided against it when he realized she might not be going to her own home.


	5. Chapter 5

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading!

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He hated this event. He didn't understand why everyone else seemed to love it so much. A bunch of schmoozing assholes not trying hard to control themselves at the open bar. Merry freakin' Christmas. Due to budget cuts, they weren't allowed to bring dates anymore. Not that he minded. Clearly he had no one to bring, and it was annoying enough to have to suck up to people at other agencies, let alone their husbands and wives.

Tony leaned onto the bar, nursing his fresh bottle of beer. He caught his reflection in the horizontal mirror behind the bartender. He could make it through a few more hours of this, he decided. If he could survive as a Marine sniper and special agent, he could handle some awkward small talk. When the bartender rushed to get more ice, something caught his eye in the mirror.

It was her. Tony quickly picked up his beer and whipped around. He started to approach her slowly, hoping she wouldn't notice him staring yet. She was still scanning the room, most likely looking for Eileen or one of the analysts in IT she was friendly with at the office.

She looked amazing tonight. She was wearing a form fitting black dress that touched the ground, and revealed her bare arms and a surprising amount of cleavage. Not that she looked unprofessional. He had just never seen her reveal more than a hint of clavicle at work. Her hair was the most surprising thing about her tonight. It was down, a rare sight in the office. Instead of her usual tight curls, it was looser. More like big waves cascading down. He had never noticed how her hair had hints of red until now.

He had to admit that when he arrived tonight, he did a quick scan of the large ballroom for her. He was a trained agent after all. He could pinpoint any target fairly easily, especially one he knew so well.

Michelle was nervous. She hated events like this. They always made her feel overwhelmingly single. She was relieved that dates weren't invited this year, despite most of the office groaning about it. At least now she would have friends to talk to and wouldn't be the third wheel. She was surprised it was such a formal event. She had heard that things were really cheap last year amid the election and budget cuts. People even had to pay for their own drinks, Eileen had told her last week. This year they decided to make it interagency and formal. When she found out Division would be there, she panicked. Michelle hoped it would be too busy for her to run into Carrie. She detested her and didn't want her to ruin the holiday party for her.

Michelle had borrowed a simple black dress from her best friend, who declared it "fit her like a glove" when she tried it on. She was initially worried it was too risqué for this environment, but scanning the room now and seeing the other dresses, she felt good about her choice. When she looked around she tried to see anyone from CTU. She started to feel that familiar tingly feeling in her spine when she locked eyes with Tony, only a few feet away from her.

Tony broke out in a broad smile when they locked eyes. He was surprised at himself, but couldn't help it. Maybe it was the beer, but it was mostly her. She looked beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and feel her bare arms against his palms.

As he stepped closer to meet her, he heard his name faintly being shouted behind him. He shot Michelle an apologetic look before turning around.

"Tony! Tony, wait!" It was George Mason. He had Brad Hammond in tow. Just great. This was why he hated these things. Tony shot another glance back and noticed a woman with big curls and a purple dress approach Michelle. Well, at least she found a friend.

Michelle felt her heart stop when Carrie slithered in front of her. She fleetingly looked at Tony, who began to walk further and further away with Hammond and George.

"Michelle. You look nice." Carrie always had an irritating, shit-eating grin on her face.

"Thanks." Michelle tried to step to the side, not really caring about coming off as cold. Carrie knew how she felt about her.

"Look, I just want to say I'm sorry. I hope you don't have any hard feelings toward me." Michelle was getting pissed now. She felt anger rise and gritted her teeth.

"Okay. It's fine." Michelle pushed past Carrie, beelining for the bar in the distance. Why did they have to be interrupted? Tony looked delicious tonight, his black suit was crisp and he wore a black button up underneath it with a dark grey tie.

When she spotted him earlier he was looking at her like he was ready to devour her. She was definitely not imaging things this time. She had spent many nights laying awake replaying things over and over in her mind. So many long gazes and late nights together were driving her crazy. She admitted to her friends that she was full-on lusting for her direct superior.

Sometimes they would be alone in the conference room and she would imagine him shoving her against the wall and taking her right there. She imagined him being animalistic and intense. She suspected he had similar thoughts based on the way he often looked at her. In the past month alone, Michelle could count on two hands the amount of times she thought he was going to ask her out or make some sort of move before stopping himself. She was hoping it wasn't in her head. But now, she felt relieved. Something about the way he was looking at her tonight made her feel at ease. He wanted her too.

Michelle ordered herself a glass of wine before finding her assigned seat for dinner. She looked at the place card at the empty chair next to her and smiled.

 _Tony Almeida_

Thank God. Tony joined the grandiose table, with George trailing behind. The men sat on each side of her.

"Michelle, you look very nice tonight," George complimented her. Tony looked over at George, jealous he could get away with saying that to her. If Tony tried to say it, it would come out as more creepy than complimentary, he was sure.

"Thanks Mr. Mason," Michelle smiled at him graciously. George excused himself, grumbling the waiter was too slow and he needed another drink.

Michelle glanced over to Tony, who was fiddling with his cloth napkin.

"Only a couple more hours, right?" Michelle broke the silence between them.

"Thank God," he breathed out. "I was going crazy having to chat up every asshole from District with Hammond." Michelle chuckled at this. She knew Tony really hated politics. It was impressive he had risen to second-in-command. Usually you had to be better at working the system. It spoke highly of his abilities based on merit alone.

After everyone at the table finished their courses, people began to mingle throughout the room again. Tony was chatting with Luke, one of the younger analysts when he began to search for Michelle again. He hadn't seen her for a while now.

"I think she's outside. Saw her head that way earlier." Tony was dumbfounded.

"What?" He snapped at the younger man. Tony suddenly felt defensive.

"Michelle…weren't you just looking for her?" Before Tony could lie, Luke cut him off. "It's really obvious, man. Everyone knows you guys have a thing." Luke was about five drinks deep, which explained the ease to divulge office gossip.

Tony was mortified. He didn't want to be the subject of locker room fodder again. "What the hell do you think you're talking about? That's not true. And frankly, you shouldn't talk to me that way. I'm still your boss." Luke suddenly felt very sober and scampered off to join a group of other analysts.

Tony stormed out of the ballroom, opening the door to the large balcony connected to the back. He felt like screaming. How could he be so stupid to let this happen again? Michelle was just a colleague. A friend and colleague at best. Nothing more and it had to stay that way. There were other beautiful women out there. This was LA, after all. For all he knew, she wanted to bring that Danny guy if dates had been allowed.

"Tony?" Michelle was startled when someone violently swung the balcony door open, but was pleased to see it was Tony. He was quickly pacing near the door, not noticing her in the corner.

Tony knew who it was instantly. "Michelle…you scared me. Sorry. Didn't think anyone was here." He walked closer to her near the railing.

"You okay?" She sounded genuinely concerned.

"Yeah. Just ready to get out of here." He noticed her rub her bare arms and shiver. It was unseasonably cold for LA tonight. Without asking, he pulled of his jacket and pulled it around her small shoulders.

"Wha—thanks." Michelle decided not to argue it. She was freezing. What she really wanted was for him to wrap himself around her. She shifted her eyes up to his and realized he was very close to her.

"No problem," she could barely hear his breathy response. She was disappointed when he took a few steps back.

"These things are pretty dull," Michelle joked. "I couldn't handle one more fake conversation, so I snuck out here." In truth, she was dodging Carrie.

Tony shook his head, trying not to think how big her lips suddenly seemed. "Why don't you get out of here? It's already 12. You probably have somewhere else to be. You've been here plenty long." Michelle was disappointed he wanted her to leave. She was also thrown by his comment about elsewhere. What did that mean?

She began to peel the jacket off and he helped her get it off her arms. His hands brushed against her forearms, maybe slightly intentionally, and he threw the jacket back on himself.

"You gonna head out also?" Michelle felt her breath hitch when he grazed her arms.

"In a bit, yeah." Tony leaned over the railing, looking down to the golf course below them. "Have a good night."

Disappointed, she left.


	6. Chapter 6

When Michelle entered the office on Monday she felt dejected and tired. Tony had barely spoken to her at the holiday party. She expected they would have spent most of the night together. Or hoped they would at least. Instead, she spent much of her time hiding from Carrie before Tony practically shoved her out the door to leave. When she got home that night she spent much of the night racking her brain as to why he suddenly turned so cold on her. And what he meant by insinuating she had somewhere better to be.

She was abruptly awoken on Sunday morning by Danny's frantic phone call, begging that she come over. She picked up some coffee and muffins and they took a walk to the park, calming him down. She felt terrible for her brother, and was not used to having to play this role for him. Their entire lives she had been the little sister he cared for, and now she felt like she was always taking care of him. After a few hours together, Michelle returned home and had to spend the rest of the day cleaning and running errands.

Michelle was glad to see there was barely anyone else here. Her eyes flickered to Tony's desk. He still hadn't come in, and wasn't expected for over an hour. That gave her some time to get work done without distraction. Michelle realized she spoke too soon when Tony came walking from the entrance.

Tony had intentionally come early, hoping to tackle some work without anyone bothering him. Well, mostly so he could control his thoughts without Michelle around. When he saw how disappointed she was when he told her to leave the party, he knew she spent much of her time thinking about him too.

When he got home on Saturday night, he spent hours laying in bed wondering how he could make it work with Michelle. When they were outside at the party, it was the first time he _really_ felt an insatiable urge to kiss her. He certainly had his fair share of physical thoughts about her, but this was different. This felt like he couldn't sleep without knowing what it would be like. He felt like a teenage girl. He realized after hours of mulling they couldn't be together. It was easier to be single. It wasn't fair of him to string her along when he had no intention to act on it. Tony was already the butt of many office jokes after Nina revealed herself as a traitor. Honestly, even before that came out because of her obvious allegiance to Jack. She was good at making Tony feel small. Tony couldn't deal with another office relationship, and Michelle didn't deserve to be associated with the guy who struck out before.

Tony was startled to see Michelle already posted at her desk. So much for getting time away from her this morning. He noticed that almost as soon as he came into the bullpen, she shot up and headed toward the kitchen. She usually got him his coffee with hers, it had become somewhat of a routine that always made him happier. He was disappointed when she returned with only one mug and sat down without greeting him.

Michelle decided against getting Tony's coffee today. He has legs, she thought bitterly. She knew it was immature to ice him out today, but she was still angry at him for dismissing her on Saturday night. How he had gone from looking like he was going to consume her to acting like she was a leper over the course of several hours was beyond her.

Both of them worked silently and eventually the rest of the office filtered in. Tony looked over to Michelle for what felt like the tenth time.

"Tony, Michelle…c'mere," George shouted from the stairs to his office. Michelle groaned internally. Of course they had to work on something together today. She wished she could just get back to her analysis at her own desk.

"Look guys, I need you to head out to do a field interrogation," George explained.

"Both of us? Why?" Tony scoffed at the thought. Michelle's eyes narrowed at him. She didn't love the idea either, but wasn't nearly as obvious as him.

"Because you have more experience than the agents on site with the suspect. And Michelle needs to be able to remotely monitor with you. They don't have anyone there that can do it." George ignored Tony's death glares. "Get moving. You need to get there as soon as possible."

They quickly gathered everything they needed and headed to one of the large SUVs in the parking lot. Tony offered to drive and Michelle didn't bother to protest. Luckily, the other agents were only about thirty minutes away.

After ten minutes in silence, Tony decided to break it. "How was the rest of your weekend? After the party?"

Michelle let out a heavy breath, "Fine. Nothing much." She struggled to hide her annoyance at him. She knew she was being a little bit immature, but it was hard to contain her discontent. If there was one thing Michelle was not, it was a fake person.

Tony's eyes shifted over to Michelle. He was a bit taken aback by her attitude this morning. He had seen her irritated before, but she seemed downright irate. She fidgeted with the radio, turning the volume up. She clearly didn't feel like small talk today. The drive went painfully slow until they pulled up to a dingy apartment building downtown.

"You need help?" Tony queried as Michelle struggled to juggle her laptop and bag. Without waiting for her response, he reached out and grabbed one of her bags from her hand. She relinquished control, and their palms met briefly in the exchange. The physical touch helped both of them lower their armor.

"Thanks," Michelle offered a weak smile. "Hopefully this doesn't take too long."

After two hours of pressing on their suspect, Tony was extremely aggravated. Michelle watched the feed from the next room over with a new analyst from Division. She had to admit, albeit embarrassing, that it turned her on a little bit to see Tony in this way. He was almost cartoonish, with imaginary steam coming out of his ears. The perp was being extremely disrespectful and condescending, so Michelle couldn't really blame him. This was becoming increasingly irritating.

Tony was fucking mad. This asshole across from him definitely had vital information about a threat at a nearby college campus. He not only wouldn't budge, but he had a dumb ass smirk on his face the entire time. Tony was reaching his breaking point of becoming physical, but knew he would have to be brought to CTU before any real pressing started. After one last dig by the perp, Tony lost it. He stormed out of the room and headed to the hall.

Michelle nearly jumped out of her chair when Tony came into the room and slammed the door behind him. She barely had time to process watching him move out of the interrogation before he was pacing behind her.

"I can't deal with this guy. I want to beat the shit out of him," he gritted through a clenched jaw.

"We can try to —" Michelle feebly offered, getting up from her seat.

Tony harshly cut her off, "— No. We're bringing him back and having Rogers deal with him." This meant some much more physical methods.

Tony was enraged with himself. He didn't want to see George's face when he returned without any key intel. Michelle was now standing directly in front of him. He had to admit he was also embarrassed that he was underperforming in front of her.

"I just can't believe I couldn't get him to talk." He felt his anger rising again.

Michelle wasn't offended when Tony cut her off. This time, it definitely wasn't about her. Tony was still fuming, she could see in his eyes. They were almost black and his brows were scrunched up in frustration. She felt her breath hitch and had a brief thought of having Tony shove her down on the table. She quickly shook it, embarrassed. Michelle contemplated how to make him calm down, before reaching out and grabbing his forearm. It was more muscular than she anticipated.

"Hey, it's not your fault. This guy will break when we bring him back. Don't worry about it." Tony instantly calmed when he felt Michelle's grip on his arm. He looked down at her hand and back at her. She awkwardly dropped her hand when they made eye contact.

Tony may have not been able to read the perp well, but he knew this: Michelle had an unmistakeable look of lust in her eyes.

He realized keeping distance and staying professional was not going to be easy.


	7. Chapter 7

_I hope you are enjoying and not too annoyed about all this building up. I've just always been so curious about the pre-Day 2 relationship between these two. And because we've all had someone we had some delicious tension with before._

 _Leave me a review on your thoughts! Thanks so much for reading!_

* * *

Another few weeks had passed since Tony and Michelle's field assignment. Things had gone back to normal now and they had found their easy steadiness as friends and colleagues again. Both Michelle and Tony had come in early and chatted while enjoying some coffee at her desk. Tony often perched himself on her desk while discussing their tasks for the day. It had become a comfortable routine.

Michelle was able to get over the feelings of frustration about the Christmas party. She realized she was being a little dramatic and hot-headed about the whole thing. It's not like there was anything substantiated between them, as much as she wished there was. And at the end of the day, she knew he liked her too. Unfortunately, she also knew it was never going to lead to much of anything if he didn't stop playing so hot and cold.

Some days he would look like he was ready to take her to a holding room in private and others he would avoid her for much of the day. She knew it was because of Nina. Dating and breaking up is hard enough, but dating a terrorist is more than a little damaging to your ego. Michelle wasn't sure if she could handle the frustration of waiting for him to admit he liked her.

Since it was a relatively slower day in the office, Tony figured he deserved to take a break and eat in the kitchen rather than over his computer screen per usual. When he walked in, he saw Michelle and Eileen chatting at a table.

"C'mon Michelle. Don't act like you've forgotten. I told Rob all about you," Eileen was practically singsonging to her. Michelle noticed Tony when he walked in and wished Eileen would lower her voice a few octaves. "You are completely his type. I know you're single, so don't even try it."

Well, that much was vehemently true she had to admit. The truth was Michelle hadn't dated anyone seriously in almost two years. She hadn't even gone on a date in months. Mostly, because she couldn't stop thinking about Tony.

"I don't know Eileen…" Tony eyeballed Michelle as she tried to quietly dismiss her. Apparently Eileen had not given up on setting Michelle up with that firefighter. Tony tried to act disinterested in the conversation when he sat at a table next to them. He knew he had no right to care about who Michelle was or was not dating. He figured she must have broken things off with that Danny guy who upset her a couple months back.

"No. You're not saying no. I already gave him your number. He's calling you tonight and you are going to say yes." Michelle winced. She knew she couldn't get out of this. She could feel the back of her head burning from Tony's gaze. She wanted to just appease Eileen and shut her up.

"Fine. But only drinks. No dinner," she decidedly told Eileen.

"Beautiful. I can't wait to hear all about it. And I will know if you try to back out of this," Eileen sternly told her. She had a devious smile as she practically skipped back to her desk.

Michelle inhaled a deep breath and turned around in her seat to see Tony staring at her intensely. God, if the ground could swallow her now that would be great. Neither of them said anything for what felt like five minutes, but was really about thirty seconds.

"Ugh, did you get that new software ready? George was askin' about it," Tony spoke first.

"Yeah. Let me go send over all the information to you and George." Michelle was grateful for the excuse to vacate immediately.

Tony felt a ball of jealousy burn in his chest that he tried to subdue. Why would Michelle want to go on a date with this damn firefighter? Well, in her defense she wasn't exactly jumping for the moon about it. But she was still going. Tony knew he was being a child in his "if I can't have her, no one can" attitude, but the thought of some other guy fawning over Michelle made his skin crawl. He wanted to be the one to spend time with her outside of the office.

Two days later Michelle was preparing herself for her blind date with Rob the fireman. She decided to meet him at the bar to avoid any awkward end of the night scenarios when he dropped her back off. She scanned through her clothes and sighed. She was pitiful in terms of non-professional attire. Her friends were always making fun of her for being a tight ass in terms of her fashion choices. Michelle pushed aside the thoughts and grabbed a black tank top that showed generous amounts of cleavage and some dark jeans with wedges. She went for her hair down, making some large cascading curls. Michelle was pleased with herself when she looked in the mirror and tried to subdue the disappointment that she was using this outfit on someone who is not Tony.

She awkwardly approached a guy who matched Eileen's description sitting at the bar alone and was relieved it was him. She couldn't deny he was very attractive in a classic sense. He had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes and a smattering of freckles. He was basically the opposite of Tony. He was also about four inches taller than him.

"It's nice to meet you, Michelle. Eileen's told me a lot about you," Rob had a loud, decisive voice. Another vast difference from Tony's sultry, low voice. Michelle also wondered what Eileen had told him.

"Nice to meet you too." Michelle felt awkward when Rob got up and hugged her in greeting.

They sat down next to each and motioned the bartender to grab a drink. Michelle and Rob went through some basic small talk, questions about family, upbringing and work. Michelle tried to skirt through the subject of her family, not wanting to go into much detail about her brother Danny.

Michelle was just about to finish her first glass of wine when her phone rang. She grimaced, immediately knowing it would be CTU. She was essentially always on call as third in command. She shot Rob an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry. I'm on call." Rob shook his head in understanding and excused himself to the restroom.

Michelle sighed before flipping open her cell. "Dessler."

"Michelle, it's Tony. Sorry to bug you, but…"

Michelle cut him off. "It's fine. I'll be there in fifteen. I'm not too far." She quickly paid for the drinks, feeling that Rob should hardly have to pay for a thirty minute date. He was understanding and assured her not to worry.

Twenty minutes later Michelle rushed into the office to meet with George and Tony. She had almost completely forgotten how she was dressed until she saw Tony's eyes widen when he saw her.

"Michelle, sorry to interrupt your date." George smirked at her. She was kicking herself for not changing in the locker room before meeting with them.

"It's fine. What's the situation?" Michelle brushed off the joke and got the full debrief from George.

Michelle set up in the situation room with the two men, trying to assist CTU Seattle remotely with some important intel about a threat they had received. Two hours later, Michelle glanced down at her watch and saw it was already midnight. Tony had barely talked to her throughout the entire night. They had successfully aided in disarming the threat and George had rushed home as quickly as possible, per usual. Tony and Michelle were left to deal with some leftover paperwork that would most likely take another hour.

Tony knew he was being childish. He had barely spoken to Michelle at all since she came in, but he couldn't help himself. As soon as she walked in he felt a surge of jealousy rise. It was Saturday, there was no doubt in his mind that she was on that blind date when he called her. He knew it was unfair, but when he saw so much of the delicate juncture between her neck and chest exposed, he couldn't help but feel jealous. She looked amazing, and it was not for him. Tony wondered how long she was on her date before he called her in. He didn't want to be here on a Saturday, but anything to keep her away from Captain America wasn't a bad thing.

"I'm sorry your night got interrupted," Tony lied. Michelle was surprised he finally broke their awkward silence.

"It's fine. I'm glad we were able to help Seattle." Tony allowed his gaze to drop low on her chest as she leaned closer to her computer monitor. He quickly looked away when her eyes shot up. Michelle was feeling self-conscious about her outfit, especially now that they were alone.

"So were you on a date?" Tony blurted, wishing he could take the words back as soon as they left his mouth. One of Michelle's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. She was annoyed now.

"Yeah. I was," she snidely replied. She couldn't believe she was engaging in this conversation. Tony was equally surprised she replied, and noticed some irritation in her response.

"Oh. That's good," Tony calmly replied.

"You sure about that?" Michelle surprised herself at the severity in which her words came out. She saw Tony almost visibly wince.

Tony's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, causing her to look him in the eyes. Her eyes softened instantly when she looked at him.

"I'm, umm, sorry. It's none of my business. Why don't you get out of here? I'll finish up." Tony released her grip and she nodded in agreement. She excused herself and Tony watched her as she walked out, trying to not stare at her butt in her tight jeans.

He let out a deep sigh and got back to work. This distance idea was not working.


	8. Chapter 8

Michelle was relieved Tony let her go home when he did. She couldn't stop thinking about him. She practically jumped out of her seat when he grab her hand last night. When he saw the apologetic look in his eyes, she knew he meant it. She treated herself to sleeping in much later than usual and went on a run around the neighborhood before she headed down the street to her favorite coffee shop. She was enjoying a cup of coffee and working on the Sunday crossword when she heard a familiar voice.

"Michelle?" She straightened her spine immediately at the greeting. Tony looked more relaxed and casual than she had ever had the pleasure of seeing within the confines of CTU. His hair was unkept and messy, and he clearly hadn't shaved since Friday morning. She saw a copious amount of jet black stubble breaking the surface of his face.

"Tony, hi." She looked down at his hands and saw him juggling a few shopping bags. She smirked in amusement. "Doing some shopping?"

Tony let out a small laugh. "Not for myself. It's my niece's birthday next week. Wanted to send her some stuff." Michelle smiled at this. "What're you up to?"

"Just enjoying the day off. Trying to finish this damn crossword, but I'm stuck."

Michelle was cursing herself. Of course the day she runs into Tony outside the office she looks like shit. Her hair was frizzy and she had no make up on, and most likely still looked like a sweaty mess in her running outfit.

Tony told himself he should politely leave her alone, but fought against better judgment. She just looked too damn cute with her big ponytail. He wasn't surprised she still managed to have flawless skin without any makeup aiding her.

"You want some help?" He set his bags down next to her table before she said yes. Tony grabbed the extra chair and pulled himself close to hers so he could see the puzzle clearly. Michelle tried to hold in her excitement at their proximity.

"So what's her name?" Michelle saw Tony's confused look. "Your niece," motioning to the gifts on the ground.

"Isabelle. Izzy. She's turning six." Michelle smiled at this. "I wish I could go out to Chicago more. I feel like she barely knows who I am." Michelle could sympathize with his guilt. If Danny and his kids didn't live in LA she would barely ever see them.

"She knows who you are. I'm sure you're the fun uncle." Tony chuckled at this.

"Well, you can see I went a little overboard on the gifts. She's the first born of either of my brothers. I can't help but spoil her." This was the most personal information she had gotten out of Tony in all her months of knowing him. "You have any nieces or nephews?"

"Yeah. Lily and Tommy. They live here, so I see them a good amount." Michelle hoped she wouldn't have to talk about Danny too much. "So you have two brothers?"

"Yeah. I'm actually the oldest. They, ugh, kind of beat me to the whole wife and kids thing." Michelle saw the glimmer of embarrassment in his answer. "Both of them married their college girlfriends."

"Well, our job isn't exactly conducive to having much a social life…" Michelle trailed.

"Tell that to my mother." Michelle shared a knowing look with him and shook her head.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Tony smirked and looked down to her newspaper.

After twenty minutes they were laughing at their own ineffectiveness to finish the difficult word game. Tony had subconsciously slipped his arm behind Michelle's chair, surprising her when she felt his fingers brush against her shoulder. She saw his gaze drop to her mouth when she turned slightly to face him and she sucked in a deep breath. Tony felt himself slowly pulling toward Michelle's mouth, almost as if a magnetic current was attached to her.

"Do you guys need anything else?" The overeager teenage barista made them jump apart and Tony pulled his arm back to his lap.

"We're good," Tony mumbled. The teen was oblivious and headed back inside. Michelle panicked and shot up.

"I have some errands to run. Thanks for the help." Tony stood up and grabbed his bags.

"You're welcome. I'll see you at the office tomorrow." Tony was disappointed. Damn barista had to ruin everything. However, he knew that it would've been harder to kiss her and deal with the consequences than to not kiss her at all. Maybe.

Michelle felt Tony watching her as she walked away and tried to compose herself. Had they really almost kissed? The look in his eyes made her feel like she was the only woman on Earth and made her stomach burn in anticipation. In all honesty, all Michelle wanted to do was invite Tony back to her place and sort out the tension between them.

When Rob called Michelle later that night she politely declined his offer to take her to dinner to make up for their failed attempt at drinks the night before. There was no use going out with someone she knew she could not dedicate her attention to. She felt a little guilty, but felt worse about having him waste his time and money on her when she knew she couldn't stop thinking about someone else. Rob politely understood, and Michelle braced herself for the wrath she was sure to receive from Eileen at the office.

It took three days for Eileen to find out, because as soon as she did, she charged over to Michelle's desk.

"Michelle! Why did you turn ice cold on Rob?" Tony's ears perked up when he heard Eileen berating Michelle at her desk. "He said you had a good time, albeit brief, then totally blew him off Sunday night."

"I know…" Michelle lamely responded. She glanced over at Tony, who was clearly listening to the conversation as much as he tried to look like he wasn't. "It's just not the right time for me to date right now."

Eileen narrowed her gaze at Michelle and had a realization. She could see Michelle uncomfortably glancing in the direction of Tony Almeida every few seconds. She noticed they were fairly close, but now it made sense to her. There was something between them.

"Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a matchmaker," Eileen winked and walked away. Michelle was relieved she had gotten off easy. Tony got a long, knowing look from Eileen as she walked past his desk.

Shit. She definitely suspected something.


	9. Chapter 9

_When I was recently re-watching Day 2, I realized Michelle is definitely putting herself out there more (before she actually asks him out that is). I think it was the part when she said, "I can read your face pretty well by now" in particular that made me notice this. I think that's so true for men and women in general who have a flirtation with someone. I think us women are the ones more privy to drop hints, so that is the route I went with._

* * *

Michelle pulled into her usual spot in the almost empty garage at 7:30 am, and popped open her visor mirror to reapply some soft pink lipstick. She fixed the edge of her lip and was pleased with herself. She had to admit, a bit embarrassed, that she definitely put more effort into her appearance since working at CTU. She was more privy to spend a few extra minutes getting ready in the mirror now and felt silly for it. She felt like a teenage girl again, trying to get the football player to notice her in the hallway. Michelle was so engrossed in examining her own reflection that she hadn't even noticed Tony pull into the spot next to her.

Tony was amused when he saw Michelle meticulously applying lipsticks in her car mirror. He loved to hate when she wore it. It usually just made her lips look more kissable than they already were. To be honest, he didn't really give a damn if she wore makeup or not. After seeing her at the coffee shop with none on, it confirmed his suspicion that she was naturally gorgeous and didn't need it. He got out of his car and saw she didn't notice him. When he slammed his door shut he saw her jump a little bit. She quickly shuffled out of her car, feeling a little embarrassed.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She playfully grabbed at her chest in jest.

"Sorry," Tony mumbled, knowing she was only kidding.

They shared a smile and began to walk into the building together. When they walked past the security guard, Michelle swore she saw the guard's eyebrows shoot up in curiosity at the two. Did he think they came here together? Michelle shook off the thoughts and continued her easy conversation with Tony.

"So how was your weekend?" Tony queried.

"It was nice," Michelle responded. "Short. I tried a new Italian restaurant close to my place. It was really good."

"Oh yeah?" Tony let himself wonder for two seconds who she went with.

"Yeah, my friend and I devoured the tiramisu."

Michelle instantly appeased his thoughts. The truth was that Michelle had spent the entire dinner whining to her friend about her situation with Tony. She felt like she was becoming a broken record because she talked about it so much. She couldn't help herself. She was pretty sure that any of her closest friends could easily pick Tony from a lineup at this point, for all the details they knew about his appearance.

"Sounds like a good time."

Michelle had started to become more brazen in her attempts to bait him to ask her out. She would bring up various restaurants, movies, or any other place she secretly wanted him to take her. There was no way he was dense enough to think she wasn't interested in him. She was just trying to plant the seed so he would eventually be the one sharing dessert with her at the end of the night.

George Mason glanced down from his office, a fortress of glass, to see Tony in his usual spot. Not his own desk where he should be, but perched up on Michelle's desk, his hip almost grazing her keyboard. Tony always did this, he noticed. He would deliver her tasks and information in person, rather than simply picking up his phone. George found this both irritating and amusing. Michelle wasn't much better than Tony, as he would often see her lingering around Tony's desk for long periods of time. What amused most was that Michelle would be interested in someone like Tony. He was so gruff and generally cranky that he found it heard to believe that calm, punctual and genuinely sweet Michelle Dessler would take an interest in him. Like Beauty & The Beast, he thought to himself.

He and Tony had a full day of interviews for a new systems analyst. George detested giving interviews, let alone with Tony. However annoying George found his obvious flirtations with Michelle, at least he was finally acting like less of an asshole now. After the first four interviews, George really was ready to just off himself. He couldn't deal with one more uptight computer geek. They were all the same—shifty and lacking in people skills.

"Tony, please tell me we are almost done. I thought you screened people already? How many damn interviews do we have today?"

Tony rolled his eyes openly at his superior, ignoring him. George knew Tony had screened dozens of applicants before narrowing it down to five options.

"We got the last one now. Paula Schaeffer."

A young girl with frizzy, curly hair walked in looking nervous. She shifted her glasses before shaking both of their hands. She was definitely a little more computer analyst than social butterfly, but Tony didn't care. He would rather have some overeager than another person like George who seemed to always do the least amount possible. When she left, Tony was sure that was his choice.

"Let's go with Paula. She is definitely the most qualified," Tony quipped.

"You didn't find her a little annoying?" George wasn't much for political correctness. He noticed Tony's grimace. "I'm just being honest. She was smart, but so was everyone else."

"No, no. She wants it the most. Besides, you won't have to deal with her. I will." George shrugged his shoulders. Tony was right, he didn't really care that much.

"Whatever. Let her know she got it and that she starts next Wednesday. I'm out of here." Tony glanced at his watch. 5:30. Unsurprising for George, but it was Friday after all. Tony felt like he deserved to leave before 6 after sitting through those interviews.

Tony headed back to the bullpen to find Michelle chatting with Eileen. As soon as he approached them he saw a devilish smirk on Eileen's face.

"See you tonight, Michelle. Tony, you should come too. My birthday. Some casual drinks. Michelle will fill you in, I'm off." Michelle sheepishly looked at Tony.

"Ugh, yeah. I guess some people are going to meet up at Paddie's around 9."

"Are you going?" Tony blurted out before he could try to act casual about it.

"Yeah, I think so. I could use a drink." Michelle wanted to ask if he was going to come too, but held back. "So you find someone for the position?"

"Yeah. Her name is Paula. I think she'll be good. A little nervous and young, but smart." Michelle shook her head in agreement. For a moment, she wondered if Paula was pretty. It was a tiny bit of jealousy in her stomach that she knew was stupid and unprofessional.

"Sounds like a good pick. I'm going to head out. See you Monday," she fleetingly announced, unsure if he would show up to Eileen's birthday or not.

A few hours later, Michelle was slightly buzzed and more than slightly disappointed. She tried to hide the fact that was let down that Tony no showed.

"Try not to look so happy Michelle," Eileen teased as she slid into the booth next to her.

"What? I'm fine." Shit. She felt bad that the hostess noticed her.

"This doesn't have anything to do with Tony does it?" Michelle's eyes widened in horror. How did Eileen know? How could she have been stupid and unprofessional to make it known to the office? "Relax. I don't think many other people know."

Michelle buried her face in her hands. Maybe it was the wine, or her sense of trust with Eileen, but she opened up, "Is it that obvious?" Her voice nearly came out as a squeak.

"To me it is," Eileen soothed her. "Because I know you. And I know what Rob looks like. When I found out you met up with him and then went cold I started to piece it together. I've seen you guys in the office."

"Oh God…" Michelle trailed.

"There's a lot of sexual tension flying around is all I'm saying. And don't worry it isn't exactly one-sided." Michelle smiled at this. Well, at least she didn't look like she was throwing herself at Tony. "Plus, no offense, but Tony is kind of a grump. He's been a lot happier lately. Aside from his miserable pining for you. I just want to shake him sometimes." Eileen got up to greet more guests who had arrived with cards and small gifts for her. She was one of the most well-liked people in the office, that much was sure.

Tony had snuck past the large group of his co-workers, enthralled in whatever story the birthday girl was telling. He quickly scanned the room and saw Michelle slumped alone in a booth. He could see that hair from anywhere. After successfully scooting by another big group, he greeted her nervously.

"Hey," he barely whispered out.

Michelle sat up and swung her head around to see Tony, dressed down in dark jeans and a black t-shirt. He looked damn good. Michelle motioned to the empty seat next to her and Tony scooted in. Tony's mind was buzzing when he inhaled a whiff of that damn delicious coconut shampoo she always smelled like. He had had a few beers at home to take the edge off before taking a cab and convincing himself to go to the party.

"How's your night?" His voice was low and rough.

"S'alright. A lot of people showed up. It's nice," Michelle lied. The truth was she had been so tired and annoyed that Tony wasn't there before that she barely socialized.

Tony motioned to the server to come take their orders and got himself a beer and Michelle a fresh drink. They shared some easy conversation and talked about the new hire Paula a bit more. Around midnight, Michelle was unable to contain how tired she was. After the third yawn, Tony spoke up.

"Ready for bed?" Michelle's eyes widened, realizing she misunderstood his question. He must have read her face. "Ugh, you seem tired. Want me to get you a cab?"

They made their way outside and Tony wished Eileen a happy birthday. Her eyebrows shot up quizzically when she noticed Michelle lingering not far behind him to say goodbye. None of the other co-workers seemed to notice.

Michelle successfully grabbed the single yellow cab lingering outside the doors to the bar and swung the door open.

"Why don't we share one?" Michelle surprised herself as her own words came out. "I mean, you live pretty close, right?"

Well, she wasn't wrong, but the truth was Tony was scared to share a ride with her. Scared that the combination of that damn innocent look in her eyes and his five beers would lead him to finally make a move.

"No use in you waiting around. C'mon." Michelle slid in and Tony quickly scanned their surroundings, making sure none of the nosey analysts was watching.

They rode in silence for ten minutes until Tony felt something pushing on his shoulder. He quietly laughed to himself. Michelle had fallen asleep on his arm. A few minutes when they arrived at her gate he gently shook her shoulders.

"Michelle," he whispered quietly. He lifted her chin gently with his pointer finger. "We're here." She slowly blinked a few times until she realized where she was and that she had fallen asleep.

"Sorry," she sheepishly apologized. She dug into her purse for a twenty, but Tony instantly rejected it.

"No, I got it. Go to bed. I'll see you on Monday."

As he drove away in the cab, Tony found himself wondering what her apartment looked like. What her bedroom decor was like, and what she liked to sleep in.


End file.
